Worlds most powerful passports: Ireland moves level with the USA

Ireland now has the equal fifth most powerful passport in the world

Henley & Partners have released their annual Passport Index for 2018.

Germany remains in the top spot for a fifth successive year, while Ireland has moved up a place from 2017 - going from sixth to fifth.

The rankings are based on how many countries can be visited without applying for a visa, as well as data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, a monumental 779,000 Irish Passports were issued in 2017, the driving force behind the rise.

Here are the world's 10-most powerful passports in 2018:

1. Germany (177 countries can be visited without a visa)
2. Singapore (176)
3. Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, UK (175)
4. Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland (174)
5. Ireland, South Korea, Portugal, United States (173)
6. Canada (172)
7. Australia, Greece, New Zealand (171)
8. Czech Republic, Iceland (170)
9. Malta (169)
10. Hungary (168)

At the other end of the scale, these are the three least powerful Passports right now:

1. Afghanistan (24)
2. Iraq (27)
3. Syria (28)